}}{{tnr}}'''Brad Ashford''' (b. November 10, 1949) is a [[Membership of the Nebraska Unicameral|member]] of the [[Nebraska State Legislature|Nebraska Unicameral]] representing District 20. He was first elected to this office in November 1986, serving from the time he assumed office in 1987 through early 1995. After a break, Ashford against sought election to the senate and was elected on November 7, 2006.

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}}{{tnr}}'''Brad Ashford''' (b. November 10, 1949) is a [[Membership of the Nebraska Unicameral|member]] of the [[Nebraska State Legislature|Nebraska Unicameral]] representing District 20. He was first elected to this office in November 1986, serving from the time he assumed office in 1987 through early 1995. After a break, Ashford against sought election to the senate and was elected on November 7, 2006. He is also a potential 2014 candidate to the [[United States Senate elections in Nebraska, 2014|U.S. Senate]] representing Nebraska.<ref>[http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/federal-politics/ashford-inclined-to-seek-senate-seat/article_bb8c8719-4e32-53b0-accc-f05f44433303.html ''Journal Star'' "Ashford inclined to seek Senate seat," Accessed July 31, 2013]</ref>

Brad Ashford (b. November 10, 1949) is a member of the Nebraska Unicameral representing District 20. He was first elected to this office in November 1986, serving from the time he assumed office in 1987 through early 1995. After a break, Ashford against sought election to the senate and was elected on November 7, 2006. He is also a potential 2014 candidate to the U.S. Senate representing Nebraska.[1]

Born November 11, 1949 in Omaha, Nebraska, Ashford is a graduate of Westside High School, Gustavus Adolphus College, Colgate University, and the Creighton University School of Law. Ashford works as both an attorney and businessman.

Ashford earned his Bachelors degree from Colgate University in 1971 and his Juris Doctor from Creighton University School of Law in 1974.

Ashford began his professional experience in 1974 as an attorney for the General Counsel's Office of the Federal Highway Administration which lasted for one year. In 1975, Ashford began working as an attorney for Bradford and Cohen and he would continue to work there until 2003. In the mean time, starting in 1983, he began to work as a hearing examiner for the Nebraska Department of Education until 1984. In that year, he became a judge for the Nebraska Court of Industrial Relations for two years, his serivce ending in 1986. In 1998, he became the vice president and business development investor of Discoverwhy.com and he is currently the co-owner of the Nebraska Clothing Company, which began in 1993.

Ashford served on a few non-legislative committees, including the Commission of Industrial Relations, Douglas County Efficiency Committee, Downtown Business Improvement District, and the Metropolitan Omaha Convention Sports Entertainment Authority.

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Ashford served on the following committees:

2009-2010

Issues

Tax reform

On January 22, 2013, Ashford and Senator Beau McCoy introduced two tax reform bills on behalf of Governor Dave Heineman which were referred to the Revenue Committee. LB 405 would repeal the state personal and corporate income taxes while also eliminating $2.4 billion worth of sales tax exemptions.[3] The more limited LB 406 would repeal just the corporate income tax and eliminate $400 million worth of sales tax exemptions while also exempting up to $12,000 of retirement income from the income tax.[4] The Platte Institute for Economic Research, a pro-market think tank, supported eliminating both the personal and corporate income taxes.[5][6] On February 13, after his tax reform proposals had met with significant opposition from businesses and others who would have been affected by eliminating the sales tax exemptions, Heineman said he wanted the bills pulled so that Revenue Committee Chairman Galen Hadley could develop a more comprehensive tax reform plan. McCoy agreed with the governor's request, but Ashford only wanted to do so if the legislature adopted a moratorium on new sales tax exemptions during the development of the new plan.[7][8]

Endorsement

On September 21, 2011, Senator Deb Fischer announced that Ashford is one of thirteen State Senators in the Nebraska Unicameral that have endorsed her candidacy for the U.S. Senate.[9]

Elections

2014

Ashford is a potential 2014 candidate to the U.S. Senate representing Nebraska.[10]

2010

On November 2, 2010, Ashford was re-elected to the 20th District Seat in the Nebraska Senate. Ashford ran unopposed in the general election..[11]

2006

On November 7, 2006, Ashford won re-election to the 20th District Seat in the Nebraska Senate, defeating Carol Casey.[12]

Nebraska State Senate, District 20 (2006)

Candidates

Votes

Brad Ashford

6,913

Carol Casey

4,920

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Ashford is available dating back to 2006. Based on available campaign finance records, Ashford raised a total of $174,827 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 22, 2013.[13]

Judiciary Committee activities

Ashford said the courts are far more likely to look favorably on the “employment piece of the Fremont ordinance than the renter piece.”

Ashford also downplayed allegations by some of Fremont’s critics who contend the vote was a racist attack against Hispanics. According to Ashford he “can’t look into the hearts of everybody,” but he is convinced the majority of Nebraskans want the federal government to protect the borders and enforce the immigration laws already on the books.[14]